Loyalist John Saunders was born in Virginia 1 June 1754. During the American Revolutionary War, he fought as an officer in the Queen's Rangers. In 1783 he sailed for England where he studied law, and in 1787 he was called to the bar from the Middle Temple. Saunders married Arianna Margaretta Jekyll Chalmers in 1790, and they had three children -- a son John Simcoe Saunders and two daughters Arianna Margaretta (1790-1868) and Eliza Chalmers (1794-1821)

In 1790 Saunders was appointed an assistant judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, taking up residence in Fredericton the same year. He was made chief justice of the Supreme Court in 1822. John Saunders died in Fredericton on 24 May 1834.

John Simcoe Saunders, son of John and Arianna (Chalmers) Saunders, was born in Fredericton in 1793. Educated at Worcester College, Oxford, he graduated in 1815 with a bachelor of arts. In 1819 he was called to the bar of Nova Scotia and, a year later, to the bar of Lower Canada. He married Elizabeth Sophia, daughter of the Reverend George Storie of England. During his life, John Simcoe Saunders held a number of prominent posts. In 1834 he was appointed advocate general for New Brunswick, in 1840, surveyor general, and, in 1845, provincial secretary. He was made a member of the legislative council in 1833, becoming president in 1866. He occupied that position until his death at Fredericton on 27 July 1878.

Source:

Saunders (family)

Custodial history

Information about the custody of these records prior to acquisition is incomplete.

Scope and content

This fonds documents the legal, political, and personal activities of two prominent members of the Saunders family: John Saunders and John Simcoe Saunders. It includes family correspondence, professional correspondence, accounts, deeds, commissions, appointments, and surveyor's maps. The fonds also includes the journal of John Simcoe Saunders, dating from 1872 to 1877, and two legal commonplace books, one each probably belonging to John Saunders and John Simcoe Saunders.

Variations in title

Saunders papers

Source of supplied title

Title based on content of the fonds.

Language

English

Availability of other formats

Material can be found on 5 microfilm reels in the Microforms department (MIC Loyalist FC LFR.S2J6P3)